Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the aims of the Hungarian Government as the new chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Hungary took over the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 21 May, taking over from Germany as the previous chair. Hungary set out its priorities for the Chairmanship on 19 May, including interreligious dialogue and technological challenges.

The UK is committed to freedom of religion or belief, and we hope to work with Hungary on interreligious dialogue to strengthen mutual respect, understanding and tolerance in Europe. The UK supports the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in November. We welcome Hungary's proposal to hold a conference of the member States' Ministers of Justice in Budapest in October to discuss justice in the digital age and tackling cybercrime.

We welcome Hungary's commitment to further promote and strengthen human rights, democratic values and the rule of law during their Chairmanship. The UK is committed to the Council of Europe, and it is important that the institution continues its focus on these core values. It is vital that member States uphold their obligations as members of the Council of Europe, and we expect that Hungary will continue Germany's strong lead on this.